Waiting For Rescue
by Robina
Summary: A moment of acting without thought leaves Raph in the dark with an enemy. Suggestion of turtlecest, but nothing really there.


"What do we do now?" The words floated through the darkness around them. The barely controlled temper could be clearly heard. Under other circumstances, Raph might have been amused.

"Hope those brothers of yers don't stop mine from digging us outta here," he responded, not bothering to hide his own temper. His leg was a screaming mass of pain. He'd have been more worried if he couldn't feel anything. The irritated pacing of the other seemed abnormally loud. Opening his mouth to warn the other about wasting air, he suddenly remembered the thing that regulated the air to oxygen he could breathe. Raph closed his mouth and focused on his fingers study of the rocks pinning his leg. He'd managed to free one leg easily after the rockslide, but these rocks seemed to be balanced to hold the others. Moving them just might crush his leg entirely.

"Why'd you do it? I wouldn't have been able to get out of the rock's path and you don't like me. So why?"

"Ya sure ya ain't Mike's clone? 'Cause ya talk enough." A wave of dizziness swept over Raph, making him inwardly curse. What had he been thinking? He hadn't. Seeing someone in danger had him acting and now he was trapped. He really needed to pay more attention to those lessons on thinking things through first.

"You don't like me, which you made perfectly clear. You don't trust me, yet you risked your life to save mine. Why?"

Raph was tempted to ignore the question, but he could feel drowsiness fogging up his mind. That wasn't good. He could feel the wet stickiness that meant his leg was bleeding. If he lived through this, Leo and Donnie were likely to kill him. He could be going into shock or something. Thinking was getting hard. Talking might help. At least it'd keep him conscious. "What, ya think I decided on it? No skin off my back, whatever happens ta ya, 'long as it don't hurt my bros."

"I could kill you right now. No one's here to stop me." The voice had become harsh, but still a good few feet away. Did he really hear hurt, or was his mind playing tricks on him?"

"Ya could," he agreed. It was something he'd already realized. The clone was bigger, stronger, and he wasn't able to move. He'd be able to block a few attacks, but highly doubted he'd survive long. "Figured ya liked walkin' 'round too much ta bother." The irritated growl made him smile. "So, if you know ya could, and I know ya could, why ain't ya?" Part of Raph's mind was warning him not to needle too much, but there wasn't a lot he could discuss with this guy. Closing his eyes and sleeping was getting way too tempting. He really hoped his brothers were already working on digging him out.

"How can you just stay there?" The words were a rush, a demand. Amusing, since they also ignored Raph's question. "You haven't moved yet, not an inch."

"Moved plenty, just not my body," Raph responded. "What good is pacing doing? Ya ain't gettin' anywhere. Wastin' energy when we don't know how long we'll be in here."

There was silence from the clone, then the sound of movement towards Raph. Cautious, loud steps that had Raph wishing for his sais. Where'd he drop them? Best he could remember, sometime after turning from his fight with Don's clone to rescue this one. Which meant they could be anywhere, including under the pile of rock pinning his leg.

He sensed the hand searching for him, grabbing it before it made contact. "Back off."

"You're stuck aren't you?" the voice was between him and the rock wall. Raph growled in annoyance. Didn't just figure the clone had gotten some of Leo's skills? "You're too close to the rocks, facing them," the clone didn't sound completely sure, but Raph saw little reason to deny it.

"Yeah, yeah. Got myself caug-" Raph hissed in pain as the clone found his leg. The sharpness of the pain told him his leg had been going numb.

"I think I can move these enough to get you out. May not do much, but no one will dig through your leg getting to us." Raph winced at the clone's comment. He certainly hadn't considered THAT possibility. Bracing his arms and free leg, he gritted his teeth.

"Fine then. Do it." The sound of rocks tumbling around lasted for a bit, but Raph could feel a difference in the weight pinning his leg. The weight was lifted, though his foot still felt trapped.

"Can't move it any farther. Other rocks are holding it. Can you move?" The clone asked, the strain of holding up the rock obvious. There wasn't a chance Raph was going to let a iclone/i show him up. Pushing and twisting, he managed to clear his leg of the rocks.

"G…got it," he hated the stutter in his voice. He could hardly think, barely breathe through the screams of his nerves. It was sheer stubbornness that wouldn't let him escape into the oblivion beckoning. He wasn't a quitter.

Moving had probably reopened his wounds, he realized dimly. At least, opened the ones that had managed to shut. "Talk ta me."

"What?"

"Look, ya ain't killed me yet, so I'm guessin'" he had to stop and wait for the creepy-crawly sensation to leave his skin. Were there bugs in here? He hated bugs. "it ain't in yer plans. So talk ta…ta me. Keep me talkin'. Else I'll be dead without ya liftin' a finger."

"Maybe I'm biding my time before I kill you. I could be waiting until we hear your brothers close and you think you're going to be fine before smashing that hope from you."

"Then keep me talkin' anyway or there won't be any hope ta smash," Raph didn't waste the energy to smirk when it wouldn't be seen. The clone considered things for a moment before asking questions, seemingly at random. Raph hoped he could keep his sense enough to not give away any important information.

A hand shaking his shoulder annoyed him. "What?" 

"You weren't answering."

Raph let out a breath. "Thanks. 'S cold. Shell…" It was like fighting through something gooey to think. He didn't even notice the clone's arms coming around him, pressing some warmth into his skin.

"Your brother, Leonardo…did you know he loves you?"

Raph blinked, struggling to make sense of the words. "He's my bro. 'Course he does."

"I mean a different kind of love." 

"What?" His mind was clearing the fog, trying to understand.

"He wants you. Desires you. In a physical way." 

"No way. How…" Raph peered through the darkness towards where the clone sat. This was just a trick, right? A way to shock him into staying awake?

"We all have bits and pieces of memories from our originals. A side effect of how we were made, the ability we have to know your moves without the training. Mostly nothing worth anything, but I have…dreams of Leonardo's. Visions of him and you that aren't the same as regular memories."

Raph's mind raced for the first time since the rocks had trapped them. This couldn't be true…could it? He opened his mouth to deny, then closed it realizing there was no way to. If the clone did have Leo's memories…wait. "How do I know ya actually got these memories?"

"I believe his crush on you started when he saved you from that crocodile. He wanted you to think of him as your hero."

Raph felt cold for a different reason. No one but his family knew about that. The guy was for real? Before he could ask another question, the clone suddenly stood and moved away from him.

"I hear someone digging. Believe we might be rescued soon and I doubt either of us want to be seen being too chummy."  
Raph certainly couldn't deny that. Straining his ears, he could hear the same sounds the clone had mentioned.

He couldn't wait to get out.


End file.
